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'Grooming' and the Sexual Abuse of Children

'Grooming' and the Sexual Abuse of Children Institutional, Internet, and Familial Dimensions

Author: Anne-Marie McAlinden
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780199583720
Published In: December 2012
Format: Hardback , 392 pages
Jurisdiction: U.K. ? Disclaimer:
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Aids understanding of the role of the grooming process in child sexual abuse and what can be done to prevent it
Provides a critical overview of the key issues concerning sex offender treatment and management across a range of disciplines, including child protection, penal policy making, and the role of the media
Illustrates the various dimensions of the grooming process as experienced by professionals working with sex offenders in treatment and management processes
Includes a detailed examination of key recent legislative developments in the UK in relation to sex offender risk management

'Grooming' and the Sexual Abuse of Children: Institutional, Internet and Familial Dimensions critically examines the official and popular discourses on grooming, predominantly framed within the context of online sexual exploitation and abuse committed by strangers, and institutional child abuse committed by those in positions of trust.

Set against the broader theoretical framework of risk, security and governance, this book argues that due to the difficulties of drawing clear boundaries between innocuous and harmful motivations towards children, pre-emptive risk-based criminal law and policy are inherently limited in preventing, targeting and criminalising 'grooming' behaviour prior to the manifestation of actual harm. Through examination of grooming against the complexities of the onset of sexual offending against children and its actual role in this process, the author broadens existing discourses by providing a fuller, more nuanced conceptualisation of grooming, including its role in intra-familial and extra-familial contexts. There is also timely discussion of new and emerging forms of grooming, such as 'street' or 'localised' grooming, as typified by recent cases in Rochdale and Oldham, and 'peer-to-peer' grooming.

The first inter-disciplinary, thematic, and empirical investigation of grooming in a multi-jurisdictional context,'Grooming' and the Sexual Abuse of Children draws on extensive empirical research in the form of over fifty interviews with professionals, working in the fields of sex offender risk assessment, management or treatment, as well as child protection or victim support in the four jurisdictions of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Impeccably presented and meticulously considered, this book will be of interest to criminologists and those working and studying in the field of policing and criminal justice studies, as well as policy makers and practitioners in the areas of child protection and sex offender management.

Readership: Students and academics in criminology and sociology, particularly those working and studying in the field of policing and criminal justice studies, as well as policy makers and practitioners in the areas of child protection and sex offender management.

PART I: THE THEORETICAL CONTEXT
1: Introduction
2: The Nature and Extent of Sexual Grooming
3: Legislative and Policy Frameworks on Sex Offender Risk Management
PART II: GROOMING PROCESSES AND PREVENTIVE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
4: The Grooming of Children, Families and Communities
5: 'Institutional Grooming' and Abuse
6: Legislative and Policy Responses to Grooming
PART IV: FUTURE POLICY RESPONSES TO CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
7: The Way Ahead: Prevention and Protection
8: Conclusion
Appendix 1: Research Methodology
Appendix 2: Interview Schedule

Anne-Marie McAlinden, Reader in Law, School of Law, Queen's University Belfast

Anne-Marie McAlinden is Reader in Law in the School of Law, Queen's University Belfast. She has an LLB (1996) and an MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice (with Distinction) (1997) from Queen's and was awarded her PhD from Queen's in 2002. She has held previous positions as both a Lecturer in Law and Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Ulster. She currently teaches Evidence and Sentencing and has published widely on the management of violent and sexual offenders and responses to child sexual abuse.